Jimmy Li wrote:
> Apparently, anything that needs root asks for the root password instead of my
> user password. Apparently, it's using su instead of sudo.
The debian-installer will set up your system to use either su or sudo
depending upon whether you specified a root password or only a user
password. If you set a root password then it will set it up for su.
If you only set a user password then it will set it up for sudo. What
you describe is normal when the installer has been given a root
password.
This selection is controlled by the alternatives system for the
'libgksu-gconf-defaults' command. You can change this selection by
updating it to use sudo instead of su.
Documentation for the gksu library is available here:
/usr/share/doc/libgksu2-0/README.Debian
Where it says:
The gksu library enables the user to run programs with root powers
using one of `su' or `sudo' as backend. If the application that uses
the library doesn't specify the backend it wants to use, the backend
will be selected through the `/apps/gksu/sudo-mode' boolean gconf
option.
To change the selection to something different:
# update-alternatives --config libgksu-gconf-defaults
# update-gconf-defaults
> Just a moment ago, I had to manually re-add myself to the sudo
> group. Now sudo works, but all applications still ask for the root
> password instead of the user password.
You did not say if the use of su and the root password was a change in
behavior or if it has always been using su since system installation
time. But if it is a change then perhaps something updated the
gconf-defaults on your system recently.
The sudo configuration setup is only for sudo. It doesn't affect the
libgksu-gconf-defaults configuration. If sudo is to be used then of
course sudo itself needs to be configured and working too. Again the
debian-installer does this automatically if only a user password is
given at install time.
Hope this helps,
Bob